New York State Teachers Retirement System Buys 5,768 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. by 14.3%, acquiring an additional 5,768 shares, bringing its total holdings to 46,070 shares valued at approximately $21.55 million.
• Ulta Beauty reported strong quarterly earnings of $5.78 per share, exceeding estimates, and a 9.3% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $2.79 billion.
• Analysts have given a mixed view on Ulta Beauty's stock with multiple price target upgrades, including Morgan Stanley raising its target to $600, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock rating to "hold."

New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 14.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,070 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,768 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.10% of Ulta Beauty worth $21,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $31,000. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 142.9% during the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $36,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 178.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 0.7%

ULTA opened at $533.51 on Friday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a twelve month low of $309.01 and a twelve month high of $572.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $531.17 and a 200-day moving average of $469.79. The stock has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.08.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 48.78%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.30 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ULTA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $584.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ulta Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Mike C. Smith sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.43, for a total value of $264,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,837.09. This trade represents a 18.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Ulta Beauty Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications.

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